Two people appear in court charged with assault after a paramedic is allegedly kicked in the back and spat on in far north Queensland, the latest in a spate of attacks on emergency service personnel working over the New Year period.

An in-stream mine on a Cape York property is one step closer after the Queensland Environment Department issued a draft authority for the project, despite the same department buying the land for conservation earlier this year.

The Queensland Department of Natural Resources is considering two controversial applications to mine a river on a sprawling Cape York cattle station, despite the same cattle station being bought last month by the state's environment department.